Adjustable supporting surfaces



Aug..13,1963 I c. E. GINGHER ETAL 3,100,572

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORTING SURFACES Filed Oct. 14, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig./

INVENTOR CARL E. G/NGHER CARL E. G/NGHERMR' ATTORNEY5 Aug. 13, 1963 c. E. GINGHER ETAL 3,100,572

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORTING SURFACES Filed Oct. 14. 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT OR CARL E. G/NGHER \CARL E. G/NGHER, we.

Bymgm ATTORNEY5 Aug. 13, 1963 c. E. GINGHER ET L 9,

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORTING SURFACES 1 Filed Oct. 14, 1960 1 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 CARL E. G/NGHER CARL E. G/NGHER, /R.

Bywymgs m' ATTORNEYS Aug. 13, 1963 c. E. GINGHER ETAL 3,100,572

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORTING SURFACES Fild Oct. 14, 1960 V 5 sheets-sheet 4 Fig. /5 55 Fly. /6

I INVENTOR CARL E. G/NGHER CARL E. GINGHERUR.

ATTORNEYS v 1963 CQEIGINGH ER ETAL 3,100,572

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORTING SURFACES Fil ed Oct. 14, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTORS CARL E. G/NGHER CARL E. GINGHER; J

BYMW

ATTORNEY5 United States Patent 3,166,572 ADJUSTABLE SUPPORTING SURFACES Carl E. Gingher and Carl E. Gingher, In, both of 312-324 Depot St, Scranton 9, Pa. Filed Oct. 14, 196i), Ser. No. 62,765 3 Claims. (Cl. 211-153) The present invention relates to all-purpose adjustable metallic supporting surfaces, more particularly, to uprights, shelf and bracket structures which may be readily assembled into various arrangements to provide adjustable shelving, table surfaces, and work tops for numerous operations as may be desired.

Although, previously, various shelving arrangements Were provided, invariably all of these arrangements were characterized by requiring cross-braces in order to impart a rigidity to the structure. If cross-braces were not employed, the shelf and bracket structures were invariably of complex and cumbersome design in order to adequately support heavy loads thereon. Further, these shelving arrangements were specifically designedas shelves to be used as shelving, namely, for the storage of goods. They were so constructed that when once erected, they could not be readily changed into different shapes as their requirements might desire. Hence, these previous arrangements were not adaptable or versatile for uses other than as shelving. Most of the prior art shelving arrangements were intended as permanent installations. In addition, the complexity of some of the bracket and shelf arrangements was such that it was difficult and time-consuming to erect these structures. Furthermore, the erection of these shelving arrangements required the use of skilled Work men with special tools.

A problem also arose where it was desired to support a number of shelves from a single common upright. This supporting arrangement in most instances involved complicated brackets, shelf and upright arrangements. These brackets could not be secured to any corner of an upright but usually were designed for mounting on a specific surface of the upright. Thus, there was lacking a simple arrangement for attaching four shelf corners to a single vertical upright using detachable brackets of a simple structure.

Those few arrangements which provided for the attachment of shelves to a common upright usually required different brackets for securing the outer edges of the shelves than for securing the inner corners of the shelves to the common upright. The necessity for these specialized brackets increased the cost of the structure and the time consumed in erecting the shelving arrangement.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide strong, versatile, all-purpose supporting surfaces.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved supporting-surface arrangement whereby the surface can be utilized as shelves, work tables, desks, steps, cat-walks, pallets and the like.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a supporting surface arrangement which eliminates crossbraces but which is strong, rigid, and can be readily as sembled and, if desired, disassembled.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a supporting surface arrangement comprising uprights and shelves detachably secured to uprights by brackets.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become readily apparent upon reference to the accompanying description and the following drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an overall perspective view of the supporting surface arrangement of this invention showing the arrangement utilized as shelving and work surfaces;

FIGURE 2 is an over-all perspective view of the ver- 3 ,100,572 Patented Aug. 13, 1963 tical upright employed in the supporting-surface arrangement;

FIGURE 3 is an over-all perspective view of a modified form of the vertical upright illustrated in FIGURE 2 wherein a double row of holes are used to permit the assembly of units back-to-back;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view looking at the under surface of a shelf;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view taken across the lines 55 of FIGURE 4 and showing the reinforcing strips on the under surface of the shelf;

FIGURE 6 is an over-all perspective view of a corner support bracket;

FIGURE 7 is an over-all perspective view of a flat shelf which is a modification of the shelf shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 8 is an over-all perspective view of a corner bracket utilized on the fiat shelf illustrated in FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is an over-all perspective view of a partial corner bracket used to support the flat shelf of FIGURE 7 from a vertical upright;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view looking at the under surface of a shelf to illustrate the manner in which the shelf is attached to the bracket, which in turn is attached to an upright;

FIGURE 11 is an over-all perspective view of a modi' fied shelf-corner supporting bracket;

FIGURE 12 is an over-all perspective view showing the manner in which four brackets are secured to the corners of a vertical upright in order to permit the securing of four separate shelf corners to a single vertical upright;

FIGURE 13 is a top plan view of the ends of adjacent shelves showing the slot therebetween;

FIGURE 14 is a perspective view showing a supporting surface arrangement wherein the shelf areas are screened to protect the goods upon the shelves;

FIGURE 15 is an over-all perspective view showing the manner in which the screening of FIGURE 14 is secured to the vertical uprights by clips;

FIGURE 16 is a perspective view illustrating a hanger bar for supporting a sliding door from the supportingsurface arrangement;

FIGURE 17 is a perspective view showing the supporting-surface arrangement formed to comprise shelves and a cat-Walk with a guard hand-rail;

FIGURE 18 is a perspective view showing the manner in which a door is .pivotally supported between a pair of uprights so as to form, with shelves attached to the uprights, a cabinet or the like;

FIGURES 19-21 are perspective views of the shelf illustrated in FIGURE 4 looking downwardly on the upper surface of the shelf with portions of the shelf being removed to show the details of construction of the W-reinforcing strip; and

FIGURE 22 is a sectional view taken along the line 222;2 of FIGURE 20 to show the cross-section of the reinforcing strips on the under surface of the shelf.

The invention essentially comprises a supporting-surface arrangement wherein the shelves are secured to square vertical uprights by brackets which are detachably secured to corners of the uprights. The shelves embody various structural features Whichenable the shelves to support considerable weight even when unevenly dis tributed upon the shelf surface. Various modifications of the bracket are also disclosed for particular applica tions. The shelf may be either spot-welded to the bracket or a special shelf may be used with a particular form of bracket.

A further feature of this invention is the manner in I which the shelves are reinforced so that the shelves are able to sustain a considerably greater load than conventional reinforced metallic shelves. The specific configuration of the reinforcing strips, the arrangement of the reinforcing strips on the under surface of the shelves, and the manner in which the reinforcing strips are spotwelded to the surfaces of the shelves all contribute to provide a shelf which will sustain up to 306% greater load applied to the center of the shelf. Since these novel shelves can support greater loads and are free from buckling even when forces are applied on the edges of the shelves, the shelves may be used in many installations where heavy loads are to be supported but Where it is desired that the shelf remains perfectly level and does not bend. An example of such an installation is in supporting high grade printingpaper where it is desired the paper remain perfectly flat without any curvature therein even when resting upon a shelf for a long time. If there is any curving of the shelf due to the load of paper thereon, this curvature will be imparted to the paper. Such curved fine printing papers are undesirable in high grade printing operations.

For a description of a specific embodiment of this invention, reference is made to FIGURE 1 wherein an over-all shelving arrangement has been assembled to form shelves 1 and a work table 2. The arrangement comprises a plurality of vertical uprights of various lengths dependent upon the use of a particular portion of the arrangement. Brackets 4 are detachably secured to the uprights 3, and shelves 5 have the brackets attached to the corners thereof by spot-welding.

Proceeding next to FIGURE 2, there is illustrated an upright 3 which comprises square tubing formed from cold-rolled steel. There is a single row of holes 6 on opposed sides of the upright. Holes on the opposed sides are in alignment with each other. These holes are regularly spaced and here are shown approximately three inches apart, although any other regular spacing may be "employed.

A modified form of the upright is illustrated at 7 in FIGURE 3 in that it comprises a double row of holes illustrated at 8. The upright 7 is used Where it is desired to assemble units back-to-back in a manner Which will be presently described.

:The shelf 5 is illustrated in FIGURE 4 and is formed from ZO-gauge sheet steel. The shelf comprises a top 9, longitudinal edges 10, and transverse edges 11. All of the edges are rolled under to form a lip 12. The use of the underturned lips 12 will increase the strength of the shelf by 60% over a shelf merely having edges withno underturned lips 12. The corners of the shelf are removed as indicated at 13 to form square notches. The shelf may be reinforced on its longitudinal edges by W-str'ips 14. The W-strips 14 are spot-welded to the top'and edge surfaces of the shelf 5 by a pair of parallel rows of oblong-shaped or dash spot-welds which are arranged in staggered relationship to each other and are illustrated at 71 in FIGURE 19'. The spot-welds are so staggered that one Weld in one roW overla s the space between successive Welds in the adjacent row of welds. The parallel rows of spot-welds are comparable to stitches and can be easily applied with welding machinery particularly made for this application.

In addition, the W-strips may be welded to the shelves "by parallel rows of continuous spot-welds as indicated at 72 in FIGURE 20.

Further, the spot-welds may also be round as made by ordinary tips or any other shape but are still positioned in -a pair of parallel rows with the welds being staggered such as shown at 73 in FIGURE 21.

If greater strength is desired more than a pair of parallel rows may be employed. Three, four, or even more parallel rows of staggered elongated spot-welds may 'be used.

FIGURES 19, 20, and 21 impart a considerably greater strength to the shelves than is the case When the W-strips are welded to the shelves merely by widely spaced spotwelds. The combination of the W-strips attached in the manner described above, together With the lip 12, prevents any buckling of the shelf 5 when heavy loads are applied either to the longitudinal edges of the shelves or to the center of the shelf.

Also, .when shelves are used in the shelving arrangements as described herein, the personnel are in the habit of using the shelves for steps. By reinforcing the longitudinal edges of the shelves as described above the shelves are considerably strengthened and repeated use as steps will not weaken or bend the shelves.

In addition, it has been found that these shelves will carry heavy loads of materials for long periods of time without the shelf becoming bowed in the center due to the Weight of the load. This is an important feature when goods are stored on the shelves wherein the goods are required to be without any curvature therein.

With reference to FIGURE 22 it can be seen that the W-strip '14 has a central portion 74- which has a rightangle therein. On each end of the central portion are legs 75 which also extend at right angles from the end of the central portion. Thus all of the angles in the W-st'rip are right-angles or close approximations thereof and the legs 75 are of substantially the. same width as each of the sections comprising the central portion 74.

The use of the W-reinforcing-strip provides 300% more strength on the edges over angle or channel reinforcing members. These W-strips are usually applied on the front edges but may also be applied along the front and rear longitudinal edges or along all four edges of the shelf.

Intermediate braces 15 are spot-welded to the under surface of a shelf in a longitudinal direction thereof. These bracesstop short of the transverse ends of the shelf. The cross-section of the braces is substantially that of a channel with flanges and is illustrated in FIGURE 5. The flanged legs 75' of the channel 15 may also be spot- Welded to the under surface of the top of the shelf by parallel rows of staggered spot-Welds or continuous welds 76 such as illustrated in FIGURES 19-21 and described previously in connection with the W-strips 14. The use of the W-reinforoing-strips and the intermediate braces reinforces the shelves to permit thernrto readily support unevenly distributed loads.

The bracket 4 is illustrated in FIGURE 6 and is essentially a shelf-corner support which is formed in one piece from sheet metal. The bracket comprises arms 16 and 17 which extend at right angles to each other. Each arm is essentially in the shape of a right triangle with the longer sides forming the right angle being adjacent each other. A groove 18 which is V-shaped in cross-section is formed at the intersection of the bracket arms 16, 17. The groove comprises faces 19 and 20, each of which has a series of spaced holes 21 therein which are approximately one inch apart. The depth of each face of the groove is substantially one-half of the width of the vertical upright, as illustrated in FIGURE 2. This arrangement of the holes on both faces of the groove, together with the particular relationship between the depth of the groove and the width of the square upright, enables a bracket to be secured to one corner of an upright having double rows of holes therein.

Each of the arms has an indentation 22 therein, and each edge of an arm, which is essentially the hypotenuse of the triangle, is rolled under as illustrated at 23 in FIG- URES 9 and 10. The lip of the indentation shown at 24 supports the bottom of the shelf edge. The arms of the bracket are spot-welded to the edges of the shelf. As a result, the shelf is supported on the bracket both mechanicallly and electrically, namely, mechanically by the lip of the indentation and electrically by the spot-Welding. The use of the mechanical support comprising the lip adds about 7% more support for the shelf.

The above-descnibed elements constitute the basic components of the shelving arrangement of this invention.

Various modifications of each of these elements are possible for specific purposes. Several of these purposes will be described.

Proceeding to FIGURE 7, there is shown at 25a flat shelf which is a modification of the shelf illustrated in FIGURE 4. The flat shelf is primarily used when it is desired to ship the shelves flat without any projecting brackets. This would most likely be done when the buyer of the shelving arrangement orders a sufficient quantity of shelves so that shipping in flat bundles would result in a considerable saving in freight charges.

The flat shelf similarly comprises atop 26 and edges 27, each of which has a rolled-under lip 28. Similarly the corners are removed so asto form square notches 29. A corner bracket 39 as shown in FIGURE 8 is spot-welded at each corner of the fiat shelf. The bracket 30 comprises a pair of arms 31 and 32 which extend outwardly from each other at a right angle and have a height which is substantially the same as the height of the shelf edge. Each aim has a flange 33 along its top edge. Similarly, there is a groove 34 having a V-shaped cross-section formed at the intersection of the arms 31 and 32. This groove has faces 35 and 36, each of which has a hole 37 therein. There is a short flange 38 on the top end of the groove, which flange serves to cover the space between the end of the lip and the bracket. The arms of the bracket are then spot-welded to the edges of the shelves. Tlhis corner bracket serves both to reinforce the shelf and as a spacer element, since it can be seen .thatin a regular bracket as shown in FIGURE 6, the arms are adjacent the edges of the shelf and hence do not permit adjacent shelves to be in contact with each other.

Illustrated in FIGURE 9 is a partial corner bracket 39 which is used to support the flat shelf 25 from a vertical upright. The bracket 39 also comprises triangularly shaped arms 41 which extend outwardly from each other to form a right angle. Also, there is a groove 42 which has a V-shaped cross-section and comprises faces 43 and 44, each of which has a series of spaced holes 45 therein. These holes are spaced substantially one inch apart. There is a flange 46 on the top end of the groove. Further, each of the arms has a top flange 47 with an upturned lip 48.

In assembling the partial corner bracket 39 with the flat shelf 25, the under-turned lips on the edges of a corner of the shelf are positioned upon the bracket and the upturned lips 48 on the bracket are bent over the lips of the shelf to secured the partial bracket to the shelf corner. This arrangement is illustrated in FIGURE 10.

A further modification of the shelf-corner supporting bracket is shown in FIGURE 11. This modified bracket 49 is used when it is desired to store square items on the shelves and it is desired that the entire front of each shelf be open. This bracket 49 is similar in all respects to the bracket illustrated in FIGURE 6 except that a portion of one arm is removed as shown at 50. Thus, when the bracket 49 is secured to the edge of the shelf, the removed portion 5%) enables the entire front of the shelf to be open.

Proceeding next to FIGURE 12, there is illustrated the arrangement by which four shelves may be secured to a single upright. In this arrangement, an upright 51 has a bracket 52 attached to each corner thereof. The upright is of the two-hole type \as illustrated in FIGURE 3. All of the brackets 52 are similar. A single bolt is used to secure a pair of brackets to the upright. This bolt passes through a hole in one of the bracket grooves, through the aligned holes in the upright, and through the hole in the groove of another bracket. Although not illustrated in this figure, the shelves are then attached to the brackets, and the result is a very simple and effective arrangement for attaching four shelf corners to a single vertical upright.

All of the elements of the supporting surface arrangement as described above may be finished in any 6. desired manner, such as by applying a coating of baked enamel which may be of any desired color.

It is pointed out that an assembled supporting surf-ace arrangement such as illustrated in FIGURES 1 has abuilt-in-fire-resistant feature. When a plurality of shelves are assembled in an arrangement, none of the shelf edges are in contact with each other. As can be seen in FIGURE 13, the edges of the shelves are spaced from each other by the width of two bracket arms. This spacing arrangement will form a slot 53 between adjoining edges of the shelves. In actual tests with a sprinkler system, it was found that when the system began operating, the water poured through the slots to form curtains of water between the adjoining edges of shelves. This curtain of water effectively prevented fires from spreading from one shelf to another and also permitted the access of water to the lower shelves and under portions of the shelving of the supporting surface arrangement. As a result of this fire-resistant feature, it is possible for users of the supporting surface arrangement to obtain reduced fire coverage rates.

In addition to the various supporting surface arrangements as. described above, other applications of these arrangements are possible. Several of these additional arrangements will be described in order to further illustrate the adaptability and versatility of this invention.

' In FIGURE 14 there is illustrated a supporting surface arrangement which forms a shelf area with the entire shelf area, except for the fronts which are not shown, being covered over with a screening 54 so as to deny unauthorized access to the material upon the shelves. Doors may be provided to deny access to the shelf area. The screening is secured to the uprights 55 by clips 56. The shelves 57 are substantially the same as the shelves 5, and the brackets 58 are similar to the brackets 4 shown in FIGURE 6.

The manner in which the clips 56 secure the screening 54 to the uprights 55 is shown in greater detail in the enlarged View of FIGURE 15.

In FIGURE 16 there is illustrated a shelving arrange ment similar to that of FIGURE 14 but showing the fronts of the shelves being open. The brackets 59 at the fronts of the shelves are similar to the brackets 49 shown in FIGURE 11. These brackets facilitate the storage of rectangular boxes on these shelves. Also, there is a hanger bar 60- to permit a door 61 to be installed across the opening in the arrangement. The door 61 is of the sliding type and is suspended from the hanger bar by rollers in the conventional manner.

In FIGURE 17 there is illustrated a shelving arrangement of this invention which provides both supporting shelves and cat-Walks for personnel to have ready access to the material upon the shelves. This arrangement clearly demonstrates the strength of the supporting surfaces of this invention. The shelves are illustrated at 62' and various equipment can be stored thereon. Along the edge of the shelving arrangement there is illustrated at 63 a cat-walk. A guard rail for the catwalk is formed by extending the uprights 64 above the surface of the cat-walk and securing tubular members similar in configuration to the uprights at 65 to form the handrails. An offset hinge 66 is used on each end of the rail member to secure the same between the pair of uprights. If desired, two hinges can be used at the end of a rail member. A covering of plywood, linoleum or the like may be applied on the surface of each cat-walk, so as to afford better footing for the personnel.

In the same FIGURE 17 there is illustrated at 67 a cat-walk constructed between shelving arrangements to provide access to the upper tiers of shelves.

When the supporting surface arrangement of this invention is utilized as a desk or other working surface, closed cabinets may be formed in the arrangement. This is done as shown in FIGURE 18 by pivotally mounting a door 68 between a pair of uprights 69. As described previously, the flanges of the uprights protrude forwardly of the front edge of the shelf 70, The door 68 has a thickness substantially one-half the width of the uprights. Consequently, the front surface of the door is flush with thefront surfaces of the uprights 69.

- Thus it can be seen that the present invention vides a versatile and adaptable supporting arrangement which can be assembled to fulfill a variety of uses. Further, the arrangement has sufficient strength so that heavy loads may be unevenly distributed upon the shelves, and the front edges of the shelves have sufficient strength so as to be used as steps by personnel in obtaining access to the upper tiers of shelves. The entire assembly of a supporting-surface arrangement is secured merely by detachably securing brackets to the corners of uprights by a nut-and-bolt arrangement. Thus, relatively unskilled personnel with a minimum of tools can quickly assemble a supporting surface arrangement regardless of its shape.

The present application is a continuation-impart of the co-pending application having the Serial No. 751,799 and filed by the same named inventors on July 29, 1958, now U.S. Patent 3,014,596 granted Dec. 26, 1961.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions, and, accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: i Y

1. In a supporting shelf structure, a rectangular shelf with corner sections, said shelf comprising edge portions which extend downwardly and inwardly forming a chanrlel with turned-under lip portions, a V-shaped notch in each of said corner sections, a corner bracket shaped to fit snugly in said V-shaped notch and secured to said shelf,

pro

said bracket comprising a pair of arms which are of substantially the same Width as said shelf edge portions and extend outwardly in engagement with said shelf edge portions, each of said bracket arms having a flange which is secured to the shelf at said under-lip portion and uniting the end of said lip portion and bracket together for reinforcing the shelf, and a partial corner bracket having a central groove portion shaped to fit contiguous with and form a continuation of said V-shaped notch and which is secured to said shelf beneath said first-mentioned corner bracket, said partial corner bracket comprising a top flange having an integral upturned flange which is adapted to be bent over and secured in fixed engagement with said turned-under lip portions of said shelf.

2. In a supporting shelf structure, a rectangular shelf with corner sections, said shelf comprising edge portions which extend downwardly and inwardly forming a channel with turned-under lip portions, a V-shaped notch in each of said corner sections, a corner bracket shaped to fit snugly in said V-shaped notch and secured to said shelf, said bracket comprising a pair of arms which are of substantially the same width as said shelf edge portions and extend outwardly in engagement with said shelf edge portions, each of said bracket arms having a flange which is secured to the shelf at said under-lip portion and uniting the end of said lip portion and bracket together for reinforcing the shelf, and a partial corner bracket having a central groove portion shaped to fit contiguous with and form a continuation of said V-shaped notch and which is secured to said shelf beneath said first-mentioned corner bracket, said partial corner bracket comprising a top flange having an integral upturned flange which is adapted to be bent over and secured in fixed engagement with said turned-under lip portions of said shelf, and said partial bracket having a pair of integral triangular shaped arms which extend outwardly from each other and parallel to said shelf edge portions.

3. A supporting shelf structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shelf comprises a W-reinforcing strip disposed on the underside of the shelf and secured between said downwardly extended edge portions along the inside of the shelf and the bottom face of the shelf to reinforce and strengthen same.

References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,357,191 Simmen Oct. 26, 1920 1,450,191 Sturm Apr. 3, 1923 1,607,262 Ledwink-a Nov. 16, 1926 1,611,078 Robson Dec. 14, 1926 1,741,293 Goldberg Dec. 31, 1929 2,258,858 Meadowcroft Oct. 14, 1941 2,291,621 Gun'n Aug. 4, 1942 2,345,178 Burdick Mar. 28, 1944 2,621,800 Neubauer Dec. 16, 1952 2,760,650 Franks Aug. 28, 1956 2,875,904 Gingher Mar. 3, 1959 2,905,334 Gottsohalk Sept. 22, 1959 

1. IN A SUPPORTING SHELF STRUCTURE, A RECTANGULAR SHELF WITH CORNER SECTIONS, SAID SHELF COMPRISING EDGE PORTIONS WHICH EXTEND DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY FORMING A CHANNEL WITH TURNED-UNDER LIP PORTIONS, A V-SHAPED NOTCH IN EACH OF SAID CORNER SECTIONS, A CORNER BRACKET SHAPED TO FIT SNUGLY IN SAID V-SHAPED NOTCH AND SECURED TO SAID SHELF, SAID BRACKET COMPRISING A PAIR OF ARMS WHICH ARE OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME WIDTH AS SAID SHELF EDGE PORTIONS AND EXTEND OUTWARDLY IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SHELF EDGE PORTIONS, EACH OF SAID BRACKET ARMS HAVING A FLANGE WHICH IS SECURED TO THE SHELF AT SAID UNDER-LIP PORTION AND UNITING THE END OF SAID LIP PORTION AND BRACKET TOGETHER FOR REINFORCING THE SHELF, AND A PARTIAL CORNER BRACKET HAVING A CENTRAL GROOVE PORTION SHAPED TO FIT CONTIGUOUS WITH AND FORM A CONTINUATION OF SAID V-SHAPED NOTCH AND 